Donna Vekic vs Marina Stakusic - San Diego Tennis Prediction and Pick 2/29/24

Former finalist Donna Vekic will play Canadian qualifier Marina Stakusic in the second round of the 2024 San Diego Open. The match will be played on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Here's our Donna Vekic vs Marina Stakusic prediction.

Donna Vekic

Donna Vekic made a name for herself while competing at the San Diego Open back in 2022. She began that tournament in qualifying and reached the final, losing to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. It was a big moment for Vekic after years of injuries and toiling in hardship. That tournament would serve as a catalyst in her resurgence into the Top 50. Almost two years later, Vekic entered this year's tournament, ranked 28th in the world rankings. She scored a straight sets win in her opener, beating American wild card Katherine Hui 7-5, 6-2. While Vekic has a tendency to throw away big leads and lose a lot to lower-ranked players, she remains almost unplayable when she is firing on all cylinders, as evident in her three-set win over World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai.

Marina Stakusic

Marina Stakusic became a household name in Canadian tennis at the end of last year. She got the nod to play at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and played a crucial role in landing her country its first title in the competition. Stakusic tallied three high-quality singles wins over Rebeka Masarova, Magdalena Frech, and former Roland Garros semifinalist Martina Trevisan. However, the teenager went missing, presumably due to injury, and only returned at this week's San Diego Open. She battled through qualifying and won just her second WTA main draw match by beating Marina Melnikova in three sets.